Simulated basketball game



L. BARBOLLA SIMULATED BASKETBALL GAME 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jime 11,1954 INVENTOR. LU/5. 5A REOLLA BY /4 T'TORA/EY L. BARBOLLA SIMULATEDBASKETBALL GAME July 16, 1957 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 11, 1954 AINVENTOR. LUIS BHITBULLA BY July '16, 1957 1.. BARBOLLA SIMULATEDBASKETBALL GAME 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed June 11, 1954 INVENTOR. Lu/sBARBOLLA A TTOKNf Y SIMULATED BASKET-BALL GAME Luis Barbolla, Mendoza,Argentina Application June 11, 1954,.Se1'ial No. 436,143

1' Claim; (CI; 273 85) The present invention refers to a parlor game andmore particularlyto anentertainingdevice which by maneuvering mechanizedmeans in order to imitate human beings, constitutes a simulation of acompetitive basketball game.

The field is of the type containing depressions so as tov definepositions in determined lines Within reach of the players, with theparticularity that the puppets constituting'jthe players, arearticulated so as to-reach, elevate and toss the ball towards thebasket.

Said puppets, being made of any adequate material,

are held by a bar passing through the thigh, so as to articulate thebody' with respect to the legs, and the arms are also articulated anddirected in pairs ending bi-symmetrically with both hands, in pressingcondition, in addition to being able to act as a tossing racket,according" to their position, for, corresponding to the rotation of thebar, the mechanism makes the body stoop until it reaches the ball afterit has slid in front thereof by means of the bar. Acting as pincers,both hands are enabled to elevate the ball when the body is againraised, all combined with movements which, at the same time, cause thearms to be raised above the level of the head, giving them the characterof a catapult to throw and direct the ball towards the basket, accordingto the manner in which the manual bar has been operated.

Each depression line to where the ball gravitates may be reached by thepuppets pertaining to one or the other player, so that it depends uponthe skill of the operator of the bar when disputing the possession ofthe ball against an adversary who has the same chance, which means that,by nlechanica'l means the same effects as the real basket-ball game isobtained.

For a better comprehension of this invention it has been illustratedwithseveral drawings in which this parlor game has been represented inone of the preferred forms of the invention, thus:

Fig. 1 is 'a' front elevational view of one of the puppets constitutingthe players, part of which is in section so as to show the gearmechanism that operates parts of the puppets.

Fig. '2 is' a side elevational View of the puppet represented insection, with portions broken away to show the internal gear mechanism,the puppet being shown in an upright position with upstretched arms; and.dot and dash lines illustrating the possibility of carrying the bodybackwards in order to impel. the ball retained within the hands.

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the puppet seen from above so as to give anidea of how, by the structural device of the arm articulations, the armsalter their angle, so that the palms of the hands being outturned, actas an impelling racket for the ball, also shown.

Fig. 4 is an elevational. view of the puppet seen from the front, butwith the body bent-and the .arms in prehensile attitude, in condition-to act as a pincer, with the possibility of reaching the ball whichfits within its 2,799,501 Patented July 16, 1957 hands; it may alsobeseen how they may 'be displaced towards' the position of the dottedlines, so as to be able'to grasp the ball, with theadjustment of thesprings disposed in the articulations. I

Fig; 5 is a side elevational view of the puppet at the moment ofgrasping the ball with its hands; this posi? tion; which corresponds tothat of Fig. 4, is the result of the angular movement of the body,caused by the slightest rotation of the operating bar. 5

Fig. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional: view of part of theapparatus which constitutes the parlor game, taken on line 66 of Fig. 7and illustrating the manner in. which the ball is picked-up and tossedto a basket by one player and. interfered with by the other player;

Fig. 7 is a top plan View of the game table, giving an ideaof thecombination of the playing teams, operated through the handle of theirrespective .bars.

In the different drawings the same reference numbers indicate equal orcorresponding parts, the elements being indicated by letters.

As may be seen in the drawings, a is the table which represents abasket-ball field, having. a railing 1,. per.- forated on both sides, inwhich are mounted bars 2 which with handles. 3 constitute the mountingelements for operating the puppets b representing the mechanicalplayers;

Said bars 2 are rotatably mounted on bushings 4, and at the same timeare susceptible to being displaced ,in a sliding manner, so that puppetsb may have a lateral run, in addition to their angular displacement.

The floor a of the field is inclined from the middle and ends towardsdepressions 5, which follow a transverse line between two rows ofpuppets; the two bars 2 .fronting. depressions 5, belong to difi'erentteams, having their handles 3' in opposed disposition, thatis to saythat the handle of one 'bar is placed on one side, while the handle ofthe other bar is on the opposite side. As there are two depressions 5 infield a one of .said' depressions corresponds to one team, so that theperson operating on one of the sides acts with the two handles of saidside, while the other person acts likewise on the opposite side.

Near both ends of'the table are baskets 6 which, accompanied with theirbacking walls 7, are supported above the field by their respective posts8.

The bars 2 which have three puppets b correspond to the attackingforwards; therefore puppets b are directed frontwise with their handstowards the nearest basketo. The bars containing two puppets, correspondto the guards and have their backs towards the nearest basket, indefending positions.

As has been stated, the puppets b-are mounted insets voftw'oor three ona rotative and slidable bar 2. Each puppet b is composed of three parts:i. e. a hollow body 9, solid legs 10 and solid arms 11. The legs 10have, in their upper part, a perforated integrally connected gear sector'12, which is run through by bar 2', so that the-legs 10 are looselysuspended on bar 2, and remain normal to the general plane of the fieldand bar '2 may rotate without affecting them.

Bar 2, by means of rivets 13 (Fig. '1') maintains hollow body- 9 ofpuppet .b in a fixed :manner, so that when the :bar is rotated, body his angularly displaced, as may be seen in Figs. ,2 and .5.

Body 9 carries a rotatable, gear '14 meshed with gear Sector 12, so thatwhile displacing the body 9 by means of bar 2,. said gear 14 is forcedto rotate. Gear 14 is meshed with an intermediate pinion gear 1 5 which,in turn, is meshed with a gear 16, a shaft '17' .of which unites arms21, so that :these arms are varticulated :to

the .body 9. The articulation of arms 11 with respect mechanismdescribed. When body 9 is angularly displaced by rotation of bar 2, gear14, resting on the teeth of sector 12, rotates in such a manner that itcauses intermediate pinion gear 15 to rotate gear 16 which, linked toarms 11, causes them to pass from the position shown in Fig. 2 to thatshown in Fig. 5, and vice-versa. Thus, when ball 18 is to be raised fromone of the depressions of the field, puppet b, by stooping, as shown inFigs. 4 and 5, lowers its arms 11 downwardly so that it can reach theball; then returning to the upright position of the body, arms 11 areraised and displaced slightly towards the back, as graphically shown indot and dash lines in Fig. 2, so that if it has grasped the ball 18, thepuppet can throw it towards the basket 6.

The ends of shaft 17 are so connected to arms 11, that the arms respondto the rotation of the shaft, but, are articulated as they are movedover the surface 19 of body 9.

The base of arms 11 are pressed against surface 19 by springs 20 whichcause them to adapt themselves against surface 19. Both surfaces 19being symmetrical offer a sort of cam, in such a manner that when arms11 are directed towards the front, the palms of the hands 11 remain asjaws of a pincer. Normally by the inclination oifered by surface 19 onthe body part 9, the arms, tensioned by springs 20, tend to close, butleaving between the hands 11 a space slightly smaller than that of thesection of the ball 18; thus when bar 2 is operated, the body stoops, asin Figs. 4 and 5; if the ball 18 is in depression 5, the hands 11 willseparate slightly and grasp the ball. Due to the tension of springs 20on both sides, the hands grasp the ball, as any person would do whenplaying the game.

When the ball 18 is grasped by the pressing action of arms 11, the sameis raised, always responding to the mechanical operation of bars 2; thebody 9 is then set in erect position as in Fig. 2 and the ball 18remains grasped between both hands 11', but when passing from theposition of full lines to that of the dot and dash lines in Fig. 2, achange is produced in the angle of hands 11' which remain towards thefront in the attitude of a racket; this changes the angle, according tothe conformationof the surface 19 given in the back part, as shown inFig. 3.

Thus reaching the dot and dash line position of Fig. 2 the puppet actsas a catapult, as, in abrupt answer to the action of bar 2, the body 9,with arms 11, in an angular movement, can impel the ball towards thebasket to which it is aimed.

With these elements, two competitors can intervene in the game, placingthemselves in their respective sides of the table a so as to operate thehandle corresponding to bars 2.

If there is a coin box 21, Fig. 7, when introducing the correspondingcoins, several balls 18 are obtained on tray 22, which are used by theintervening parties in order to start the game.

Upon the throwing of a ball in the center of the field, by slope orgradient it will gravitate to and rest in one of the depressions 5. Inview of what has been expressed, each depression is situated between twobars pertaining to different teams; both opponents must try to reach theball 18 by sliding, by their respective bars 2, one of the puppet b upto the place where the ball is found, and once in front of same, the baris rotated by handle 3 so that by stooping body 9 may reach the ball 18with hands 11. This is due to the operation of sector 12 on gear 14,which in its movement operates gears 15 and 16 resulting in the angulardisplacement of arms 11. As when descending the hands collide with theball, which is somewhat larger than the distance between the hands, sothat the width between the hands must be displaced in order that theball 18 may be securely grasped by both hands 11' and as this isinfluenced by the tension of the springs 20, the grasping of the ball iseffected with a certain pressure, sufliciently strong so that the ballmay not drop when the body of the puppet is raised.

The person operating bar 2 by handle 3 must rotate same so that body 9is set upright from the position shown in Figs. 4 and 5 to that of Fig.2. When the body 9 is in a standing position, the gears also lift thearms 11 upwardly with a relative displacement in a greater angle thanthe body b, and the ball is lifted with hands 11' up to the maximumheight. Owing to the fact that surface 19 compels a twisting of the arms11 to be effected when overpassing the zenith line, the palms of hands11 will be shown frontwise and acquire the character of a catapult, sothat operating the bar 2 in an abrupt manner, the body with arms 11produce an angular movement, of such violence that the ball 18, freedfrom the hands, follows a trajectory that may reach as basket 6 if theaim has been precise.

This means that puppet b, with their mechanical action, may act nearlyin the same manner as would human beings playing the game ofbasket-ball, at least in what refers to the picking up of the ball.

Whichever may be the result produced by the impulse of the ball, afterbeing hurled, due to the gradient of the field, it will fall into one ofthe depressions 5, where the teams with their respective puppets b candispute the possession thereof in the manner indicated in Fig. 6.

If it were the guards or backs instead of the forwards who receive theball, when throwing the ball it would be difficult for them to make agoal, but in any case the hurling of the ball in the opposing fieldshows a progress for its team, as it will pass towards the zone of therival basket, Occupying the line of the respective depression 5, andwith luck and ability, operating the bar of the forward players, theball may be grasped in order to hurl it towards the basket.

It is obvious that in carrying out this invention, modifications ofdetail and structure of the specified device may be introduced, withoutthis implying a departure from the scope of said invention, thecharacteristics of which are clearly stated in the following claim.

I claim: 7

In a parlor game of the basketball type, a floor simulating a basketballarea in shape, side and end walls surrounding the floor, small basketsrespectively located at the opposite ends of the floor, a backboardassociated with each basket, bracket means for supporting the backboardand basket above the floor extending upwardly from each end wall,parallel operating bars slidable through and rotatably connected to theopposite side walls, said parallel bars being arranged in pairs, thebars of one pair lying in confronting relationship to one another and infront of one basket at one end of the floor and the bars of the otherpair lying in confronting relationship to one another and in front ofthe other basket at the other end of the floor, each end of the floorhaving inclined surfaces converging toward one another and providing anintermediate depression extending across the floor into which a playingball may gravitate, articulate playing men elements mounted in spacedrelationship on said bars, two said playing men elements being mountedon the bar of each pair located immediately in front of each basket andrepresenting the guards or backs of a team, three said playing menelements mounted on the bar of each pair more removed from the basketand representing the center and forwards of a team, handles from theguard bar and the forward bar of different pairs extending outwardlyfrom the opposite side walls to manipulate the articulate playingelements forming the different teams, each of said articulate playingelements comprising a hollow body fixed at the thigh to the bar to beturned and slid therewith, a leg element depending from said bar, springbiased opposing arms extending from the upper end of the hollow body,

driving mechanism extending between the leg and the arms to cause thearms to grasp and pick up the ball as the body is rotated downwardly andupwardly to an elevated and throwing position and cam means on said bodyover which said arms are operable to release the ball as the arms areextended upwardly to prepare the ball for catapult action by the handsso that upon return rotation of the body the ball will be trajectedtoward the basket.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,934,381 Slosson Nov. 7, 1933 6 Barnum Nov. 27, 1934 Gosnell Nov. 25,1947 Botts July 15, 1947 Levi Aug. 15, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS France Apr.12, 1937 France June 20, 1951

